Piano-action



A. P. BROWN July 15, 1947.

PIANO-ACTION Filed Dec. 22, 1945 INVENTOR. ALEXANDER R BROWN BYMATTORNEY Patented July 15, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PIANO-ACTIONAlexander P. Brown, Beechhurst, N. Y.

Application December 22, 1945, Serial No. 636,656

8 Claims. 1

My invention relates to piano actions and, more particularly, to actionsfor splnets of restricted dimensions. An object of my invention is toprovide an action which can be inserted in a piano of a height not muchexceeding the height of the keys.

In the prior art, this object has been attained by providing mechanismsconnecting the key with an actuating element positioned at a lower levelwhereby the height of an action of otherwise more or less conventionalstructure is reduced. Such devices are known as underslung actions. Theyhave several severe disadvantages. The mechanism interposed between thekey and the proper action increases the number of parts required,requires higher expenses, makes the structure more complicated, makesthe proper adjustment more difficult and less reliable and results in amushy touch and tones of poor quality.

Further objects of my invention are to avoid these drawbacks, to actuatethe proper action by direct blow or stroke of the key, and, thereby, toobtain tones of perfect quality.

Other objects are to provide a jack with a lower end positionedconsiderably below the level of the key; to provide a hammer with apivoted butt positioned at its lower end; to provide for a hookingengagement between the jack and the hammer butt whereby the jackreleasably engages the hammer and swings the same from the position ofrest'toward the sound string, can be disengaged from the hammer when thelatter rebounds, and swings the hammer back from the rebounded positioninto the position of rest; to provide a wippen having an arm struckupward by the key and having another arm moving down at the same timeand carrying a back check; to provide a jack hinged to this latter armand moving down when the key is struck; and to arrange these parts in anarrow space located at the back side of the key.

Further objects are to provide a damper with a hinge positioned near itslower end and considerably below the level of the key, and to providethis damper with an extension which is engaged by the jack at the end ofa stroke.

Still other objects are to arrange the hammer and the jack at a shorthorizontal distance from each other; to facilitate, thereby, the hookedcooperation of these parts; to provide, thereby, for a smallhorizontal'measure of the action and of the piano; and to provide astructure of the hammer rest which can be positioned in the narrow spacebetween the hammer and the jack.

Still further objects are to provide a fixed stop for the jack wherebythe same is turned around its hinge at the end of a stroke; to providethe jack with a projection engaging a recess of the hammer butt anddisengaged from this recess by this turning movement; and to providemeans urging the jack into the engaging position.

Still other objects are to provide the hammer butt with a fixed pivotpositioned in front of the engaging projection of the jack; and toprovide this butt with a recess positioned between this pivot and thisjack projection.

Still further objects are to reduce the number of parts, to simplify thestructure of a piano action of this type, and to make it unnecessary toprovide the hammer with a spring.

Still other objects and advantages will appear from the followingdescription of an exemplifying embodiment of my invention, from theappended claims and from the accompanying drawing in which the figureshows a vertical, partially sectional side view of this embodiment.

It should be noted that, throughout this specification and claims, thefront side" is understood to be the side facing the performer or theleft side in the drawing, and the back side to be the side facing thesound string or the right side in the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, numeral l indicates a key of conventionalstructure shown broken off, the front part of this key being omitted.Preferably, the back end of the key is reduced in height.

The key I can be operated either by the hand of a performer or by apneumatic action which may move a wire 2 in vertical direction. The wire2 may pass slidably through an opening of a block 3 aflixed, by a screw46, to the key bed 4 and may have an upper end provided with a head 5contacting a padded lower surface of the key I. In both kinds ofoperation, the back end of the key I moves upward when the key isstruck.

A wippen 6 has a fixed pivot 1 positioned, in horizontal direction,beyond the key I. The pivot 1 connects the wippen 6 rotatably to a part41 which is afiixed, by a screw 48, to a bar 49 forming a part of thepianos stationary structure. An arm 8 of the wippen 6 extends abouthorizontally over the back end of the key I and carries an adjustablescrew 9 contacting a padded upper surface of the key whereby the wippen6 is turned clockwise around the pivot 1 when the key is struck. Anotherwippen arm l0 extends from the pivot l in a direction about opposite tothe arm 6 and has a slightly upward directed elongation II to which aback check [2 is aflixed.

The back check may comprise a wire I3 which is bendable for adjustmentof the position of the back check.

A jack I4 is hinged to the wippen 6 at a pivot point I5 of the arm Ill.The fixed pivot I is positioned between the pivot I5 and the screw 9. Aspring I6 has one end positioned in a recess of the wippen 6 or itselongation II and another end positioned in a recess of an angularextension I1 of the jack I4. The spring I6 urges the jack in clockwisedirection around the pivot I5.

A fixed, padded stop I8 is positioned below the jack extension IT. Ajack trip screw I9 is adjustably inserted in the extension I'I. At theend of a stroke, this screw contacts the stop I8 whereby the jack I4 isslightly turned around the pivot I5 in counter-clockwise direction.

The jack I4 extends from the pivot I5 down in an oblique direction andhas a lower end positioned considerably below the level of the key or ofthe key board. This lower end is provided with a front projection 20 forreleasable engagement with a hammer as will be described later. The jackI4 has another projection or nose 2I at its back side which, preferably,is positioned at a distance from the lower end of the jack. This nose 2Iserves for the operation of the damper as will be described later.

The hammer has a shank 22 which, in the position of rest, is situatedat'a short distance from the jack I6 and of the stop I8 and at the backside thereof. A butt 23 is affixed to the lower end of the shank 22 andhas a part 24 passing below the jack I4 and reaching over the front sideof the projection 20 whereby the butt forms about an are or a Usurrounding an open space 25. The lower end of the jack I4 enters thespace 25. The butt part 24 has a recess 26 at that side which faces thefront of the projection 20. This recess is releasably engaged by theprojection 20 which pushes the part 24 down when the key is struck andthe jack moves downward, and pushes the part 24 up when the key isreleased and the jack moves upward. A fixed pivot 21 is positioned inthe butt part 24 farther to the front side than the recess 26 wherebydownward movement of the projection 20 turns the hammer in clockwisedirection toward a sounding string 28. The pivot 21 connects the butt 23rotatably to a part 50 which is affixed, by a screw 5I, to a bar 52forming a part of the pianos stationary structure. The upper and lowersurfaces of the recess 26 may be padded with felt layers, and a thinlayer 29 of suitable protective material, for example, buckskin, may beplaced over these felt layers and adjoining parts of the butts surface.

A head 30 is aflixed to the upper end of the shank 22 and is positionedbelow the back check in the position of rest. When the hammer swingsaround the pivot 27 in clockwise direction, the head 30 hits the string28 in the position shown in dotted lines. When the hammer rebounds fromthe latter position, a rounded surface 3I of the head 30 engageswedgingly a padded surface 32 of the back check which, at the same time,is positioned as shown in dotted lines.

A hammer rest 33 forms a stop for counterclockwise movement of thehammer. In the position of rest, the shank 22 contacts a padded surfaceof the hammer rest 33. The latter is positioned in the narrow spacebetween the shank 22 and the fixed stop I8, and suitable clearance isleft between the rest 33 and this stop. In order to make thisarrangement possible, the

structure of the hammer rest comprises, in contradistinction from theusual wooden bar or rail, a steel rail 34 which has a U-shapedcross-section having short legs bent into tight engagement with the padof the rest 33. This structure can be made sufiiciently strong withoutrequiring much space in the direction perpendicular to the shank 22 andmakes it possible to arrange the jack I4 and the shank 22 about paralleland at a short distance from each other.

A damper comprises a preferably horizontally positioned lever 35turnable around a fixed pivot 36, a head 31 and a wire 38 connecting thehead 31 with the back end of the lever 35. The pivot 36 connects thelever 35 rotatably to a part 53 which is affixed, by a screw 54, to abar 55 forming a part of the pianos stationary structure. A spring 39has a fixed end and a movable end 40 entering a recess of the lever 35and urging the damper into contact with the string 28. The fixed end ofthe spring 39 may enter a recess of a disk 4I aflixed to a screw 42which is adjustably inserted in an extension 43 of a fixed part, forexample, of the bar 55. The back side of the extension 43 may be paddedand may form a rest or stop for counter-clockwise movement of thedamper.

A wire, spoon or extension 44 is affixed to the other end of the lever35 and reaches across the hammer shank 22 into the path of the nose 2I.This nose is positioned over the free end of the wire 44 and forms,together with the lower part of the jack I4, an angle which may bepadded. The wire 44 is so adjusted that the surface of the nose 2I hitsthe free end of the wire at the end of a key stroke.

The described piano action operates as follows:

When the key I is struck, its back end drives the wippen 6 in clockwisedirection, raising the wippen arm 8 and lowering the arm I0 and the backcheck I2. The arm I0 pushes the jack down whereby the projection 20,engaging the recess 26 and pushing the lower surface thereof, turns thehammer around the pivot 21 into the position where the hammer head 2!strikes the string 28 as shown in dotted lines.

The jack trip screw I9, is so adjusted that it contacts the stop I8 ashort time before the key stroke is completed and that, when the hammerhits the string, the jack has been turned, by the resistance of thisstop, a little in counterclockwise direction around the hinge I5.Thereby, the projection 20 is withdrawn from the recess 26 into thespace 25. Simultaneously, the nose 2I contacts the wire 44 and turns thedamper a little in counter-clockwise direction around the pivot 36whereby the damper head 31 is withdrawn from the string 28. Then, thehammer, being disengaged from the projection 20 of the jack, reboundsand is caught by the back check I2 as described before.

When the key I is released, it returns into the shown position of rest.At the same time, the spring I6 urges the wippen 6 back into the shownposition, the jack trip screw I9 losing contact with the stop I8 and theprojection 20 entering again the recess 26 and pushing the upper surfacethereof up whereby the hammer is returned into the position shown infull lines.

I desire it understood that my invention is not confined to theparticular embodiment shown and described, the same being merelyillustrative, and that my invention may be carried out in other wayswithout departing from the spirit of my invention as it is obvious thatthe particular embodiment shown and described is only one of the manythat may be employed to attain the objects'of my invention.

Having described the nature of my invention, what I claim and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a, back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite, substantiallyhorizontal directions, one of said arms having a lower surface drivinglycontacted by said key end, a jack hinged to the other wippen arm wherebysaid jack moves down when the key is struck, said jack having a lowerend positioned considerably lower than said key, and a hammer having ashank positioned at the back side of said jack, and having a buttaffixed to the lower end of said shank and engageable by said lower jackend, said butt having a fixed pivot positioned farther to the front sidethan the point of said engagement.

2. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite, substantiallyhorizontal directions, one of said arms having a lower surface drivinglycontacted by said key end, a back check affixed to the other wippen arm,a jack hinged to the other wippen arm whereby said jack moves down whenthe key is struck, said jack having a lower end positioned considerablylower than said key, and a hammer having a shank positioned at the backside of said jack, having a head afiixed to the upper end of said shankand engageable by said back check, and having a butt afiixed to thelower end of said shank and engageable by said lower jack end, said butthaving a fixed pivot posi tioned farther to the front side than thepoint of said engagement.

3. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite, substantiallyhorizontal directions, one of said arms having a lower surface drivinglycontacted by said key end, a jack hinged to the other wippen arm wherebysaid jack moves down when the key is struck, said jack having a lowerend positioned considerably lower than said key, a hammer having a shankpositioned at the back side of said jack, and having a butt affixed tothe lower end of said shank and having a recess with a lateral openingand having a fixed Divot positioned farther to the front side than saidrecess, said lower jack end having a projection engaging said recess andbeing disengageable from the same by turning movement of said jack, andmeans turning said jack at the end of a key stroke.

4. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite, substantiallyhorizontal directions, one of said arms having a lower surface drivinglycontacted by said key end, a jack hinged to the other wippen arm wherebysaid jack moves down when the key is struck, said jack having a lowerend positioned considerably lower than said key, a, hammer having ashank positioned at the back side of said jack, and having a buttaffixed to the lower end of said shank and having a recess with alateral opening and having a fixed pivot positioned farther to the frontside than said recess, said lower jack end having a pro-.- jectionengaging said recess and being disengageable from the same by turningmovement of said jack, said jack having an extension, a springpositioned between said extension and said wippen and urging said wippenand said jack to turn relatively to each other, and a fixed stoppositioned in the path of said extension whereby downward movement ofthe jack brings said extension into contact with said stop and, at theend of a key stroke, said jack is turned against the pressure of saidspring.

5. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a, back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite, substantiallyhorizontal directions, one of said arms having a lower surface drivinglycontacted by said key end, a jack hinged to the other wippen arm wherebysaid jack moves down when the key is struck, said jack having a lowerend positioned considerably lower than said key, and a hammer having ashank positioned at the back side of said jack, and having a buttafiixed to the lower end of said shank and extending around said lowerjack end whereby said butt surrounds an open space entered by said jackend, the front part of said butt having a recess at the side of saidspace, said jack end forming a projection releasably engaging saidrecess, said butt having a fixed pivot positioned farther to the frontside than said recess.

6. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite, substantiallyhorizontal directions, one of said arms having a lower surface drivinglycontacted by said key end, a jack hinged to the other wippen arm wherebysaid jack moves down when the key is struck, said jack having a lowerend positioned considerably lower than said key, a hammer having a shankpositioned at the back side of said jack, and having a butt aflixed tothe lower end of said shank and engageable by said lower jack end, saidbutt having a fixed pivot positioned farther to the front side than thepoint of said engagement, said jack having a lateral projection, and adamper having a fixed pivot and a part reaching into the path of saidjack projection,

'7. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite, substantiallyhorizontal directions, one of said arms having a lower surface drivinglycontacted by said key end, a jack hinged to the other wippen arm wherebysaid jack moves down when the key is struck, said jack having a lowerend positioned considerably lower than said key, a hammer having a shankpositioned at the back side of said jack, and having a butt afiixed tothe lower end of said shank and engageable by said lower jack end, saidbutt having a fixed pivot positioned farther to the front side than thepoint of said engagement, and a hammer rest positioned between saidshank and said jack and comprising a steel rail of U-shapedcross-section.

8. In a piano action, a combination comprising a key having a back endmoving up when the key is struck, a wippen having a fixed pivot and twoarms extending from said pivot in about opposite,

substantially horizontal directions, one of said arms having a lowersurface drivingly contacted by said key end, a jack hinged to the otherwippen arm whereby said jack moves down when the key is struck, saidjack having a lower end positioned considerably lower than said key, ahammer having a shank positioned at the back side of said jack, andhaving a :butt aifixed to the lower end of said shank and having arecess with a lateral opening and having a fixed pivot positionedfarther to the front side than said recess, said lower jack end having aprojection engaging said recess and being disengageable from the same byturning movement of said jack, said jack having an extension, a springpositioned between said extension and said wippen and urging said wippenand said jack to turn relatively to each other, a, fixed stop positionedin the path of said extension whereby downward movement of the jackbrings said extension into contact with said stop and, at the end of akey stroke, said jack is turned against the pressure of said spring, anda hammer rest positioned between said shank and said stop and comprisinga steel rail of U- shaped cross-section.

ALEXANDER P. BROWN.

